

f* 




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SPEECH 



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1>*V ^ V -J^ 



MR. LEAKE, OF VIRGINIA, 



ON THE 



OREGON QUESTION 



DELIVERED 



IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, 



FEBRUARY 3, IS4 6. 



WASHINGTON: 

PRINTED AT THE UNION OFFICE. 
1 846. 



. Mi 



SPEECH. 



Mr. LEAKE rose, and addressed the committee 
ap follows : 

Mr. Chairman : I am not one of those who are 
disposed to regret the protracted debate vi^hich the 
question before us has elicited in this House. I am 
not one of Uiose who believe that wlien a question 
of the magnitude and importance, the acknowledged 
importance of this, is brought up for consideration 
and decision, the debate in relation to its merits and 
to the consequences which may result from it, ought 
to be at nil limited. Lt is a question as to which the 
people of the United States are demanding at our 
hands the fullest and most thorough investigation 
\vhich our minds are capable of bestowing upon it. 
When the eyes of the nation are turned towards 
oar deliberations here — when all classes and inter- 
ests are involved in the consideration and decision of 
this question — 1 say it behooves the American Con- 
gress, it behooves the representatives of this great 
confederacy, to deliberate well and to consider ma- 
turely before they come to a decision on its merits. 

It is, indeed, no ordinary que.'^tion that we are 
called upon to decide. It is, I firmly believe, as im- 
portant a one as any that has ever engaged the atten- 
tion of the American Congress since the foundation 
of the government, not excepting even the momen- 
tous declaration of war, and the deliberations which 
preceded it, in 1812. I have given to it whatsoever 
consideration my feeble powers have enabled me to 
give. I have investigated it as maturely as I could; 
and such are the impressions and such the conclu- 
sions at which my mind has arrived. 

A spirit of levity unbecoming this body, and un- 
worthy of the occasion, has sometimes manifested 
itself m the course of this discussion. And I could 
well rejoice had no matter foreign to the question 
and extraneous to the subject under consideration 
been introduced, so tkai 1 might be at liberty to 
march directly up to the question, as is my wont, 
and confine my attention, and the attention of the 
committee, if 1 shall be so fortunate as to obtain it, 
exclusive!)' to that point. But, sir, I am not thus 
at liberty. For, high as are the responsibilities un- 
der which I acknowledge myself to be as a repre- 
sentative in the Congress of the United States — 
high as is the duty which I owe to this great confed- 
eracy of States — yet there is one duty even higher 
and more sacred, and which calls were loudly upon 
me for at least a passing notice. 

The State which I have the honor in part to rep- 
resent on this door, has been again assailed here by 
honorable gentlemen from all parts of the hall. Her 
representatives have been arraigned in a body — not 
put upon a separate trail, and aJlowed each to plead 
guilty or not guilty as he might feel — by gentlemen 
who have thought proper to arraign the Common- 
wealth of Virginia; and to send intimations abroad, 
which have been carried on the wings of the press 
from one end of the Union to the other, that the 
representatives of that State — those to whom she 
has confided her interests — are false to their duty 
and to their country, and recreant to those obliga- 
tions which they owe to their constituents. . 

The gentleman from Illinois, [Mr. Hocf..] my 
friend near me, on Friday last, I believe, took occa' 



sion to draw a contrast between what he was 
pleased to term the ancient and modern patriotism 
of Virginia, and to read a homily as to what were 
the duties of her democratic members here, with a 
view to show that we who are the accredited or- 
gans of that State do not speak fairly the sentiments 
of the people whom we represent. He read also an 
extract from a speech made by a distinguished gen- 
tleman, formerly a member of this House, to show 
that Virginia had departed from the faith of her fa- 
thers, and that v/e, her representatives, were 
occupying ground not only at war with the 
interests of the country, but irreconcilable with 
the ground v/hich that Commonwealth had her- 
self taken. If is a little remarkable that whilst 
the gentleman was reading the speech of Gov- 
ernor Floyd, he did not remember (if, indeed, 
he had ever investigated the matter sufficiently to 
know) that the position which that distinguished '« 
gentleman took, (and he spoke the voice of Virgin- 
ia,) was identical, in all respects, with the position 
now assumed by her representatives. What was 
it ? The speech was made in 1829, two years after 
the joint convention had been renewed, subject' to 
the limitation in the convention of 1827, to be 'ter- 
minated on one year's notice. And yet that distin- 
guished legislator proposed a law here to take pos- 
session of Oregon without giving the notice required 
under the convention. He proposed a stronger 
measure than the representatives of Virginia nov/ 
propose, although we, too, have one mode of set- 
tling the controversy as I shall presently show. He 
desired to erect a military post at the mouth of the 
Columbia river without giving the notice; and the 
gentleman from Illinois, if hi.s position is correct, 
should have denounced him, as well as us, with the 
intention to steal the territory in spite of the vigi- 
lance of the people who in fact claim it as their 
own. I say to the gentleman that, in judging of 
what belongs to the patriotism of Virginia, whether 
ancient or modern, he had better leave her repre- 
sentatives to themselves. They are fully compe- 
tent to judge. We are responsible to that State, 
not to the State which the gentleman represents. I 
trow, sir, that the gentleman will find his hands full 
in .settling that long account which never fails ;o 
r»n up against a representative by the time he 
reaches home; and although he has kindly offered 
to take charge of us, my word for it, the people I 
represent (and I believe I may speak for the whole 
Commonwealth of Virginia) will not thank him tor 
his interference. 

But, sir, this is not all. The speech of the gen- 
tleman from Tennessee, [Mr. Joh.^json] — and it 
will be remembered that we had here yesterday a 
beautiful episode arising out of it — contained a 
still more wanton assault upon the Old Dominion. 
I will read an extract, not only to show the taste 
and elegance of the gentleman's diction, but the 
character of the charge which he has preferred agadnst 



He says: 

"Why, the Old Dominion— God blfss her!— tliat had been 
in the shackles of conseivDtism for several years past — 
now, when she had freed herself, as they Uad hoped— when 
Mr. Rivf 8 had been depoeed from ofiice on account of hi;> 



conserTative position — when the Old Dominion stood erect, 
'redeemed, regenerated, and disenthralled' from the fetterd 
of conservatism— that her statesmen should now return 
'like a sow that is washed to her wallowing in the mire'— 
was truly a thing to be deprecated by every friend of hers, 
and by every lover of his country. Now, if his information 
was correct, ten to four of her politicians had relapsed into 
the position of conservatism. Now, if Mr. P.,ives was in 
power, he would undoubtedly stand at the head of the rep- 
resentatives from the Old Dominion, leading on their co- 
horts. But the people of the Old Dominion would yet speak 
for themselves; their voices would be heard from the west- 
ern mountains to the Atlantic coast, proclaiming in thunder 
tones our right to the whole of Oregon up to 54 degrees 40 
minutes." 

Did the gentleman mean to intimate, (continued 
Mr. L.,) in this grave charge, that the State of Vir- 
ginia, like that which he represents, had ever de- 
parted from the republican faith, here or elsewhere.' 
Did he mean to insinuate that there ever had been 
a time when the constitution of our country was 
endangered, when the principles of the republican 
party, which contain in themselves the true exposi- 
tion of that constitution, had been assailed, when 
conservatism, or whigism had threatened to sweep 
away the great landmarks of the republican policy 
— did he mean to say that the time had ever been 
when the Commonwealth of Virginia had fallen 
from the proud position she has always occupied in 
the ranks of the republican party? This lecture 
comes from the State of Tennessee. Remember it ! 
From the State of Tennessee ! And the gentleman 
who failed to set his own household in order, under- 
takes to regulate ours; he who had proved inade- 
quate to preserve his own State, to raise her 
up from the slough into which she had fallen, 
undertakes to interfere between us and our constitu- 
ents, and to tell us that -xe have departed from the 
faith of our fathers. I say to him that when the 
State of Tennessee, like Virginia, shall have as- 
surtied the proud position to which she is so well 
entitled — when she shall have cast off the slough of 
federali.sm, in which she has been engulfed for some 
3rear.« past — when she shall have proved more faith- 
ful to her own distinguished son tha*. Virginia has 
done, it will be time enough for him to lecture us 
and to show us what our duties are. 

Sir, I have not come here to pass any eulogium 
on the State which I ip. part represent. But idnce 
she has been thus assailed, and an effort deliberate- 
ly made to cast a blot upon her hitherto unsullied 
escutcheon, since she has been accused, arraigned, 
and (if the testimony of the accuser is to be taken) 
convicted, I have felt it my duty to say a word in 
her vindication. As to the charge against rnyself, 
(for I am one of the ten representatives of Virginia 
on this floor against whom it is brought,) that I had 
relapised from the ancient faith of my State, I let it 
pass by me "as the idle wind that I regard not;" 
but I felt it due to old Virginia, the bulwark of the 
republican party now and heretofore, to set her 
right before Congress and the country. 

I know that when the gentleman from Illinois and 
others told us that we, who occupy an antago- 
nistic position to that which he holds, were appeal- 
ing to the fears of the people, they did not under- 
stand the force of the terms which they used. We 
appealing to the fears of the people.' We of the 
South — of Virginia and of South Carolina in par- 
ticular — to be accused of appealing to the fears of 
the people! If we had made such an appeal, it is 
one that would have fallen as upon the ears of 
night, which could not be responded to, because 
there was no such feeling existing. But we made 



no appeal, except to their caution and prudence.-, i 
We did not attempt to excite their prejudices or'' 
alarm their fears by warning them that without just 
cause or provocation there was danger to their rights 
or their interests. 

A word more before I close this portion of my re- 
rwarks. I say to all those who have assailed us, 
that whilst we do not vaunt ourselves on our achiev- 
ments, yet, when thus assailed, I must, as one of 
her representatives, say that Virginia has never 
thought it necessary to erect any monwments to her 
sons; and it is not our boast, as it was justly the 
boast of the gentleman from Maryland [Mr. Giles] 
the other day, that his State "gave graves to her en- 
emies and monuments to hef defenders." We make 
no such boast, because the fame of our Common- 
wealth is 30 well established on the pages of our histo- 
ry that it requires no sculptured marble or pyramid of 
stone to commemorate her achievements, or to per- 
petuate the virtues of her sons. She builds her 
monuments on the battle-field, and stamps the rec- 
ord of her achievements on the destinies of the na- 
tion. 

I pass now, Mr. Chairman, to another matter ex- 
tremely irrelevant in its character, and which I re- 
gret to be compelled to refer to. I speak of the at- 
tempt which is made here to read out of the demo- 
cratic church all who do not agree in the propriety of 
giving this notice, and to the repeated allusions, in 
that connexion, to the Baltimore convention and 
its action. 1 say I regret that any allusion has been 
made on this floor to a mere party convention — 
whether held by whigs or democrats. The time 
has yet to come when caucus machinery shall con- 
trol the action of the federal government. The time 
has yet to come when the dictates of a convention 
shall be regarded as law by an American Congress. 
And I, for one, do not hesitate to say to this House, 
and through this House to the country, that I care 
not what may be the dictates of party, unless they 
meet the approbation of my conscience I will hot 
bov/ down to them. No consideration sballinduce ' 
me to surrender the rights and interests of my con- 
stituents, or to sacrifice one tittle of the honor and 
true glory of the nation, because the party with 
which it is my pride to act, and with which I hope 
I ever shall act, may think proper to lay down a 
different rule of action. 

But what was the decision of the Baltimore- con- 
vention.' Did that make Oregon a party question.' 
A certain running resolution asserted our rights to 
Oregon. Nothing was said about a notice. The 
convention did not require any one of the demo- 
cratic p.irty to give that notice. It was an abstract 
declaration of our right to Oregon, in which I fully 
concur, and which I expect to carry out by my ac- 
tion on this floor, either at this session, or at some 
subsequent time, if I should have the honor of a 
seat here. Is this a party question? My friend 
and colleague, [Mr. Pendleton,] the "lone star" of 
whigism from the State of Virginia, has fallen into 
some error. In the fierce vehemence of his denun- 
ciation, he has given a party aspect to the debate 
unworthy of the occasion, and unworthy of his 
position as a representative here. I am not about 
to enter into the history of the Bahimore conven- 
tion, nor to reply to the hits of my colleague against 
that convention. It is true, he told us that that con- 
vention had brought forth, rather suddenly, a cer- 
tain distinguished individual; that the heterogeneous 
elements of which the democratic party was com- 
posed must insure its speedy dissolution; and, in 



5 



fcis imagination, he was contemplating the prospect 
■of that brilliant party with which he had, for at 
least ten years, hcen associated, gaining ascendency 
in the councils of the nation, and of our own Stale. 
I cannot but think, Mr. Chairman, that he had, in 
his imagination, gone back to the scenes of the ex- 
tra session of 1841, when a party, llushed with one 
of the most brilliant Iriumpiis that had ever been 
achieved, came iiere in the full tide of successful ex- 

1)eriment; and, in the short space of six weeks, (a 
ess time than would be required, in the estimation 
of the gentleman from Michigan, [Mr. CmrMAN,] 
to take Canada,) dissolved into its original elements, 
and was scattered to tlie four winds of heaven, nev- 
er more to be gathered together. 

But is this a party question? If the Baltimore 
-convention so settled it, then 1 charge upon the dem- 
ocratic party here that they have proved recreant to 
their duty, and false to the instructions they have 
received. 1 say, if it is a party question, it is un- 
doubtedly true that they have violated tlie instruc- 
tions of the democratic parly. Do you not remem- 
ber, sir, that at the last session, the proposal to 
give tliis notice was under consideration.' It ^^^ls 
submitted in an independent form. It was pro- 
posed to be incorjiorated in a bill then before the 
House. And what was the vote.= Of the 8'2 mem- 
bers who voted in the negative, 79 were dem- 
ocrats, and 3 only whigs; while, of the 120 who 
voted in the atlirmalive, GT were wliigs and 53 dem- 
ocrats. And this, too, at the session which imme- 
diately followed the Baltimore convention, and after 
the election of Mr. Polk. But one brief year ago, 
then, we find the democratic party on this floor re- 
pudiating the very issue which gentlemen now say 
was made by that convention, and decided by the 
people in that contest. Sir, if it is a parly question 
now, it was so then. If there is now any obliga- 
'.;on on the democracy here to vote for this notice, 
that obligation was equally strong upon them at the 
last session. And gentlemen who taunt u.s with 
a departure from the household faith on this ques- 
tion, do but pass the heaviest censure upon them*- 
selvcb. The gentleman from Indiana in iny eye, 
[Mr. Kknnedv,] who made a most amusing, as 
well as an argumentative speech on this question,. 
A oted at the last session against the notice. 

Mr. Kkn-xedt explained. He said that, as he 
presumed it was "not the desire of his friend from 
V'irginia to misrepresent him on this sul'jert, he 
would beg leave to state, that he luid at no time du- 
ring the last session voted agiinst giving this no- 
tice; but on the contrary, in all possjble ways he 
had voted for it. He had concurred with his col- 
league [Mr. OwEN'l ill its introduction as an inde- 
pendent proposition; and after it was connected 
with a separate and diflerent proposition, he had 
voted for ihem both together. It was true that he 
had voted against conntc/iiig these separate and dis- 
tinct propositions in one bill; and one of the 
strongest objections lie had against this connexion, 
was the fact that it might defeat the final passage of 
this very notice, and possibly endanger both mcas- 
41 res. 

This was his position, and he understood it to 
be the position of nearly all, if not all, of those who 
voted with him on that occasion. 

Mr. Leakf. continued. These episodes, Mr. 
chairman, are not very convenient or agreeable; 
particularly under the one-hour rule. I only state 
a fact which the journal proves. And I as.sert that 
of those distinguished orators of the democratic 



party who have spoken tliis session in favor of the 
notice, all, with the exception of five or six, voted 
at ihe last session against it. The gentleman from 
Mi.ssissippi [Mr. Thompson] undertook yesterday to 
explain away his vote. And almost every dem- 
ocrat who now charges us with a departure from 
the household faith, because we will not go for the 
notice, themselves voted against it twelve months 

But I refer to another consideration. If this be a 
party question, then I do not hesitate to say that the 
democratic party is now dissolved, and that there 
must be a new formation of parties. If to oppose 
the notice makes a man no democrat, then to sup- 
port the notice is, of course, to make a democrat of 
the first water. And if you apply the {est of my 
colleague, who spoke several days ago, [Mr. Bay- 
ly,] the distinguished gentleman from Massa- 
chusetts, [Mr. AnAMs,] the gentleman from Ohio, 
[Mr. GioniMGS,] the gentleman from Pennsylvania, 
[Mr. Pollock,] the gentleman from Alabama, [Mr. 
HiLLiARi), the "lone star" from that State,] and 
some dozen other whigs, are now democrats of the 
first water; whilst we, who bore the burden and 
heat of the day, when, in the memorable contest of 
1844, the principles of the republican party were 
staked "upon the cast of the die;" we who were 
found in the breach, eye to eye and front to front 
with the whigs, and who contributed somewhat to 
the splendid victory which then crowned our efforts, 
are now to be denounced as traitors to the demo- 
cratic party and its principles. Sir, if I believed 
that ihe distinguished man who now fills the presi- 
dential chair with'so much honor to the country — 
that man of whom I caJi proudly say that I confide 
ill him as fully as I would in any man that ever held 
that exalted station — if, I say, he could give coun- 
tenance to these assaults upon a portion of his b?st 
friends, simply because they could not concur with 
him in a question of mere expediency involving no 
political principle whatever, I should hold him un- 
worthy of the station. 

But, Mr. Chairman, I have not yet refwrcd t the- 
question before the commitfee. I have felt it ray ' 
duty to place myself right before the people whom! 
represent, and to say a few words in vindication of 
those of my colleagues who occupy tlie same posi- 
tion. 

I must confess; and the remark comes in patly 
here, that I have seen enough in the discussion in 
this House, and of the action of certain individuals, 
to excite the fears of a novice like myself. I have 
seen enough to have caused me, had 1 been an ad- 
vocate for this notice, (which J was not,) to pause 
and deliberate before taking a step so fatal and ir- 
revocable. What have we seen here.'. We are told 
that this is a party question. 1 congratulate gentle- 
men, then, on their new allies. I have seen the 
veteran federalism of Massachusetts, the wild, reck- 
less, and impudent fanaticism of all the non- 
slaveholding States, (which finds its appropriate 
representative even on tliis floor,) and the high and 
generous chivalry of the West, shaking hands in 
strange and unnatural concord over this most por- 
tentous jiroposition. I have seen abolitionists and 
federalists, tarift" men, bank men, and internal im- 
provement men, all meeting and acting in harmoni- 
ous concert upon what they say is a democratic 
question. Sir, if these are the emblems of democ- 
racy, I am not a democrat. But they are. not so. 
And gentlemen who undertake to arraign us, know 
full well that the test is no test at all. 



When I was elected to represent the fifth con- 
gressional district of Viro;inia, I was elected by a 
people who had ever held their representatives ex- 
clusively responsible to themHelves. The charter un- 
der which 1 hold my seat here, comes from the 
people of Virginia, or & portion of them; and whilst 
1 have every confidence in theincumbe-nt of the presi- 
dential chair — whilst I have every coi fidence in my 
brethren of the democratic party — and whilst I am 
determined to contir.r.e by connexion with that psr- 
1y (grappled to it as I am v.-ith hooks of principle) 
through all time to come; yet I look' neither to the 
White House, nor to members here, nor to party 
dictation out of doors, as to v/hat I shall do. I shall 
go home to my people; to them I shall give a full 
explanation of my course here; and lam content to 
abide by their verdict; and neither the gentleman from 
Illinois, [Mr. Hoge,] nor the gentleman from Ten- 
nessee, [Mr. Johnson,] shall be permitted to step in 
between us. 

I proceed now, Mr. Chairman, to notice a few of 
the considerations which will guide my action on 
this question of notice. And I beg leave, at the out- 
set, to observe that 1 shall not go into a discussion 
of the merits of our title to Oregon, or irito an ex- 
amination of its merits as compared with that of 
Great Britain. The matter has been so fully discus- 
sed and elaborated here, and in the able exposition 
of our two Secretaries of State, Mr. Calhoun and 
Mr. Buchanan, that it would be a work of superer- 
ogation to attempt to throw any new light tjpon it. 
Suffice it to say, that 1 hold the American title to be 
clear and unquestionable up t© 49° and-a-half. 1 hold 
our title against England as good to 54° 40'; but I 
cannot hold, with the chairman of the Committee on 
Territories, [Mr. Touglass,] thatv/e may go up to 
the Arctic circle. Believing this, I shall pursue that 
course which i believe best calculated to secure our 
rights to the whole country, and to bring this contro- 
versy to an amicable settlement. 

What, then, is the question for us to decide? So. 
far it has been confined exclusively to the propriety 
of giving or not giving this notice; but the fart is 
that the proposition to give this notice is one of the 
least considerations connected with the question. 

What do gentlemen mean when they say that you 
are to give this notice, and that it is an amicable 
measure? 

If you do no more than give the notice, I agree 
that there could not possibly be any danger to the 
-peace of the country. But that is the least part of 
it. Your notice means something more than mere 
notice, or it means nothing at all; you contemplate 
strong ulterior action, t.o give it force and vitality; 
otherwise you are merely acting the part of a brava- 
do. You say that the joint occupancy shall termi- 
nate in twelve months from the date of the notice; 
but you also tell Great Britain, by inevitable impli- 
cation, that you mean to take steps to enforce your 
title. Is not this so? Must it not be inevitably so ? 
It is an axiom — a truth that, merely stated, proves 
itself. 

Suppose that at the end of the twelve months 
this controversy shall remain open and unadjusted, 
aad that Great Britain and the United States should 
have been unable (and I believe this notice to bean 
insuperable barrier in the way) to adjust it by ne- 
gotiatiofi: what, then, will you do? In the first 
place, you will announce to Great Britain that the 
notice having been duly given, and believing our title 
to be clear and unquestionable, you are determined to 
take such measures as may be requisite to enforce 



that title, and to take possession. Is this peace? 
Is this calculated to secure an amicable adjustment of 
the difficulty ? On the contrary, I repeat that, in 
my judgment, it is a declaration of war in embryo. ' 
It is saying to Great Britain that at the expiration of 
the twelve months, we will take the country by 
force. 

I sliall nut undertEike to enter into a disquisitioii 
upon the relative power of Great Britain and the 
United States. I know the force, the mighty and 
irrepressible energy of this nation; and I do not fear 
a contest with Great Britain, or any other power. 
But when gentlemen undertake to tell us of the 
ease with which we can overrun Great Britain and 
her dependencies — at all events on this continent — 
it seems to me that they are going to war without 
counting the cost. Gentlemen say that this is a 
peaceful measure. I say that the speeches of gen- 
tlemen look to it as a war measure. If there beno 
spirit of war in it, if gentlemen wlio advocate the 
notice do not believe that it will lead to war, whence 
these beautiful apostrophes to the American eagle, 
and indignant philippics against the British lion ? 
Whence the eloquent appeals to the patriotism and 
the anti-English feelings of the American people, 
or these fiery deunciations of the arrogance of Brit- 
ish power? Are these the elements of^ peace, or its 
signs and emblems? 

We have seen gentlemen indulging in fierce de- 
nunciations of the power of Great Britain; we have 
heard them speak of the ease with which we could 
overrun her and conquer her dependencies. A gende- 
man from Missouri, [Mr. Sims,] who made an elo- 
quent speech here, undertook to tell us, that with no 
other weapon than the ox-poles of his wagon dri- 
vers we could conquer the territory and drive the 
British out. The gentleman from Michigan, [Mr. 
Chipman,] in the intensity of his zeal, took occasion 
to tell us that his people could go over into Canada, 
and in ninety days annex it as an appendage to the 
State which he represents. And the gentleman from 
Indiana, [Mr. Kennedy,] finding that these two gen- 
tlemen had anticipated him in the conquest of the 
wliole country — having no world for him.self to 
conquer — but meeting the British lion in his path, 
very coolly takes him by the beard, and throws 
him across the Atlantic, where he is now, doubtless, 
crouching in some of the secret recesses of the Tow- 
er of London, afraid to show his beard again on this 
side of the great water. Are these, I auk, the em- 
blems of peace? I say that the rapidity of their con- 
quests finds no parallel, unless it be that recorded in 
the pages of sacred history, where the walls of Jer- 
icho were overthrown simply by the blowing of 
rams' horns. And gentlemen seem to think that 
they can conquer Great Britain by a process as 
simple and as easy. Why, Mr. Chairman, Caisar, 
in the height of his power and the pride of his glory, 
could conquer almost with the rapidity of the light- 
ning's stroke; but it was necessary that he should first 
come and see before he could overcome. Napoleon, al- 
most by the magic of his name, overran many of the 
mightiest monarchies of Europe, but he wzs backed 
by hundreds of thousands of the finest troops the 
world ever saw. But the ancient glory of the one, 
and the greener and just as imperishable laurels of 
the other, have been far surpassed by the wordy he- 
roes who have figured in this brilliant campaign; and 
I have seen no parallel to the achievements of gentle- 
men on this floor, except in the conquest of Jeri- 
cho, or in the classic pages of Shakspeare. We are 
told thast in the time of Henry iV, certain hot spirits 



assembled in the quiet recesses of the mountains of 
Wales, and very coolly jiroceeded to dethrone the 
reignkig monarch, and to parcel out his dominions 
among themselves. 

To so great an exactness did they carry this 
imaginary co;. quest, that they "cavilled about the 
ninth part of a hair." Cut two houi-s of time "\fy 
Shrewsbury clock" sufficed to show the futility of 
their calculation. And I tell gentlemen here, tiiat, 
whatever fancies they may think proper to indulge 
in, however easy in the distance the conquest of 
Great Britain may appear, something more than 
bluster, something more eflectual thaw words, will 
be required to accomplish the object. 

There is another consideration, Mr. Chairman, 
which, to my mind, pre.'sents a conclusive objection 
to tliis notice. When tiy friend from Illinois, [Mr. 
HocE,] and the gentleman from Tenneesce, [Mr. 
Johnson,] who have been hunting in pairs against 
Virginia, were assailing us for the want of democ- 
racy on this question, I could not but remember 
the surprise with which I had seen them sit coolly 
by, and hear the most monstrous follacies advanced 
on this floor, (on the part of democrats, too,) yet 
fold their arms in inglorious apathy, and not rebuke 
them for their want of consistency with the ]irinci- 
ples declared by the Baltimore convention. Was 
the Oregon question the only question embraced in 
the resolutions of that convention' Was nothing 
said about the tariff? Was nothing said of other 
great issues? Of internal improvements? When I 
beard the gentleman from Pennsylvania, [Mr. 
Thompson,] in the course of the facetious speech 
lie made here the other day, declaring himself in 
favor of Oregon, end at the same time boldly an- 
nouncing that the tariff" would remain untouched, 1 
wondered that some of these fiery members from 
the West did not re<id him a lecture for his non-con- 
formity to one of the fundamental articles of the 
democratic ereed. But, to ray surprise, they regard 
tliat gentleman as ope of the best democrats on this 
floor, whilst I am one of the worst. Strange, that 
gentlemen who advocate the most monstrous error 
that has ever exhibited itself in our government, 
should be permitted to hold their places in the dem- 
ocratic party, whilst I and my colleagues are to be 
read out of it because we do not concur in a mere 
question of expediency. That, too, was a question 
settled by the contest of 1844. Tiie people settled it. 
That contest, however, was but "the war of the rev- 
olution — that of indeperi-dence is yet to come," and it 
remains to be seen whether we can consummate it. 

What is the state of the relations between this 
country and Great Britain ? We have now ascer- 
tained that, if a proper line of policy shall be pur- 
sued between the two countrie." — if the amicable re- 
lations heretofore existing between them shall be 
cultivated — ;the result must bv"^ in a short lime to 
draw the commercial ties that bind us togeth- 
er more clo;iely, and in a manner that will re- 
dound equally to the inleresta and the honor of 
both nations. 

Much has been said about the restrictive policy 
of England — a policy which is unworthy of the en- 
lightened age in which we live. But now, when we 
have assurance almost doubly sure, that if the gov- 
ernment of England go on in the line of policy 
which she has maikcd out, that system of restric- 
tion ia to be relaxed, is it not madness to interpose 
any obstacle in the way ? Within two years a ma- 
terial modification of her tariff system has been 
made. Her restriciions upon the provision trade 



have been materially lightened, and we have now 
an almost certain prospect of the unconditional and 
total repeal of her corn-laws. These things arc but 
the commencement of a great and glorious reform; 
and when the people of England shall have been 
once begun to feel the benefits of free trade in one 
rc.ipect, they will demand it in all. We have as- 
certained that even Sir Robert Peel, the organ and 
the .spokesman of the stern and hitherto \inyielding 
tory interest of England, has been compelled to bow 
before the advancing spirit of the age — of freedom 
of trade and freedom of thought. On our own side 
oftliewatera similar state of things exists. Our 
people have awalcened to the importance of the sub- 
ject; and if the cnnvass of 1844 decided anything, it 
derided that these advances on the part of Great 
Britain should be met in a corresponding spirit here. 
And in a few yc.irs, if this spirit is cultivated, it will 
prove of incalculaljle benefit to the people whom we 
all represent. No man can estimate the advantages 
to accrue to the agricultural interests, and in fact to 
all classes of our people, from a system of perfect 
reciprocity of trade between us and the nations of 
Europe. Is not this glorious prospect endangered 
by the notice' I adverted sometime since to the 
fact that gentlemen who advocate the notice con- 
sider it a war measure, and amongst this number, 
Mr. Chairman, is yourself; for the amendment you 
have propo.^ed indicates as plainly as that two and 
two make foiir, the fears you entei tain that war is 
to grow out of it. The second section of your bill 
reads as follows : 

yEC. ■.!. ./2ud he it furlhey ra^ilted. That the rresiuent of 
the Unifcil States is hciehy aiilhoiiv.cd to repel anj- and all 
aggressions U]ion the commerce of the United Slates; to re- 
sist any attempt which may be made to exercis-e exclusive 
jurisdiction over any jiart of the territory claimed by the 
L iiited S'.ales, and to repel invasions of the same; and' for 
these purposes to employ such portions of the militia of the 
I'nited States as he may deem advisal>le, agreeably to the 
jirovisions of the second and third sections of an act < ntitled 

Anaet giving to the I'resi.lfnt of tlie United Slates addi- 
tional powers for the defenc" of tlie United States, in certain 
cases, aijainst i: v.ision. and for other jiurjioses;" npproved 
tlie third of .March eighteen hnndieu and thirly-nine; to ac- 
cept the services of any number of volunteers, not exceed- 
ing thousand, to serve during the war, or for 
r.ny less period, in the manner provided for by an act enti- 
tled ''An act authorizing the President of the l!nitcd States 
to aecept the services of v.ohmleers, and to raise an addi- 
tional regiment ofdragoonsor n;ounted reiflmen," approved 
Uie twenty-third of May, eighteen hundred and thirty-six; 
to employ llie regular military force of the United States, 
and to expand and increase the same to any nunibCT not ex- 
ceeding thousand men; to com|>le(e 
the piiblie armed vessels now n\it!iori-/.ed by Jaw, and to 
eijuip, man, and employ in actual service all the naval force 
. f the United States, -tud to 1 iiild. purchase, or charter, arm, 
ei;uip. and man, such vessels and sleamboats us he shall 
deem necessary for the purposes aforesaid. 

And again it provides: 

Sf.c. 3. ^ndocitfi:rlhfyrrr:;iylrf^d. That the sum of 

millions of dollars is hereby appropriated and 
placed at the disposal of the President of the United States, 
i^or the purpose of executing the provisions aforef aid; to pro- 
vide for wlijch, lae Serretary of the Treasury is authorized 
to borrow money on the credit of the United States, and to 
ca;i.<c certificate's to !^e issued tlierefor, agreeably to thfe 
provisions of thcfiflh section of the act a.''ores3id, approved 
.Vlarch third, eighteen hnmhed and thirty-nine. 

Now, (Continued Mr. L.,) I ask, if you give the 
notice, have you, Mr. Chairman, not put it on the 
ground that this House will be obliged to put it on ? 
And I do not hesitate to say that if tliis unqualified 
notice shall be given, 1 shall be prepared (1 do not 
say to vote for so strong a bill as this) but to arm 
the nation, in order that it may be in a condition to 
repel aggression, and to enforce the dpclaration it 
will have made. For if wc onoc get into war, or 



8 



the danger of war, we shall have to meet it 
as becomes the American Congress. Give this 
notice — accompany it with a bill of this char- 
acter — think you that Great Britain will qui- 
etly fold her arms, not anticipating the possibility of 
a co|)flict? And what then becomes of the prospect 
to which I have adverted ? 

The tariif system of England would not be modi- 
lied,'?while'the iniquitous bill of 1842 would be per- 
petuated, and all the issues which the people of this 
country decided in 1844 would be swept away. 

My friend from Mississippi, [Mr. Thompson,] 
spoke yesterday of one consideration, which, 1 
think, requires notice at the hands of southern cot- 
ton-growing gentlemen. He said that England would 
not go to war because she depended on us for the 
raw material to sustain her manufactures. There 
■ are two sides to that question. 

Mr. Jacob Thompson explained. He said iie 
had only urged that as one of the considerations. 

Mr. Leake. Well, then, one of the considera- 
tions was that England could not do without a sup- 
ply of cotton from us, and, therefore, that she would 
not Sght. I do not doubt that this consideration 
would operate in some degree. But I appeal to the 
cotton interest^(and I am of their kindred, feeling 
as they, feel, my heart palpitating to every injury 
inflicted upon them, for I am the representative of 
an agiicultural interest) — I say I appeal to them to 
say if Gre'at Britain cannot flourish without our 
cotton, can . our cotton flourish v/ithout the 
English market.' Ofthetwoanda half millions of 
bales raised in the United States, England takes 
over two millions, or more than four-fifths; and 
yet v/e are, to be told that she will not go to war, be- 
cause she cannot' do without our cotton, when, in 
fact, all of us know that we cansiot do without the 
English market. The gross delusion that the tariff 
of 1842 was to build Ufi a home market has been 
exploded. It is at least in the womb of time — and 
I give it as my opmion — the promise never can be 
realized. So that, by a war, we would be cut off 
from the market in England, whilst we should find 
no adequate market h^re to countervail the loss'. 

Jjwt this is an unpropitious time, for another con- 
sideration, at which to give-'this notice. I know 
that some attempts have been made to ridicule the 
position .which many of us occupy as to the true 
mods of settling this Oregon question. We say 
that, without givihg any notice, v/e may proceed 
to take the proper steps to secure our ultimate pos- 
session of the country, and to place ourselves in 
such a strong and invincible position that Great 
Britain cannot move us. The gentleman from Illi- 
nois [Mr. Hoge] told us that this would be stealing 
the territory; but 1 ask attention to an admission 
made by himself, which goes as far as I could 
wish. That gentleman told us that without giving 
the notice, we could properly resort to all the meas- 
ures recommended by the President in his message. 
What, sir, are those measures? 

To encourage emigration to Oregon by 3.11 proper 
means. To establish at once military posts; to es- 
tablish post-routes, and to guarantee by the strong 
arm of the government the rights of American citi- 
.zens acquired in Oregon. All this we liave the 
"power to do without notice, and it is all that is ne- 
cessary to be done to ensure our ultimate posses- 
sion of the country. 

if you give the notice' you must do more than this. 
You must take forcible possession of the country 
and maintain it at every hazard, whilst the advan- 



LIBRORY OF CONGRESS 

mil! 



317 187 246 




tages to be secured, 
identically the same; 
I have indicated. 1 
tion of the joint cor 

Gr|at Britain has twenty-odd torts erectca wunm 
the limits of the disputed territory; that she has nu- 
merous settlements there, and is engaged in the actual 
cultivation of tlie soil. England, then, has con- 
strued the convention for us; and if we have sub- 
mitted for a period of .30 years to these "encroach- 
ments," surely she can have no right to complain 
if v/e colonise, with a view to avail ourselves of the 
benefits stipulated in the agreement between the 
two countries. 

I wish to repeat that I am in favor of all steps 
requisite to secure our rights, and to encourage em- 
igration. The great argument 1 have heard here in 
favor of the notice, is, that negotiations have been 
brought to a close-, and therefore that we must look to 
ulterior action. If this argument is founded in rea- 
son, it would have been good from the time of th<5 
adoption of the convention. That convention was 
resorted to as a substitute for war, as the distin- 
guished gentleman from Massachusetts, [Mr. 
Adams,] (in remark.? which I find reported in the 
"Intelligencer" of the 3d of February last) declared. 
It was a substitute for war; negotiations liad fail- 
ed. In 1824, another brief attempt to negotiate 
failed. And agriin, in 1826, another effort was made 
to settle the difficulty by negotiation. But the Brit- 
ish plenipotentiaries made a proposition to which 
we could not accede, and it was rejected. Negotia- 
tion failed, and the convention was renewed. So 
that in each of these cases the argument had 
quite as much force and efficacy as it can have f.ow. 
But it is precisely for the reason that negotiation 
kits failed that this notice ought not to be 
given, because if it is given, v/ar is the only 
alternative. Your negotiations have failed, and 
therefore you give the notice. It becomes, then, a 
resort to the uttimaratio of nations; and the ques- 
tion must be settled by the struggle of arms, with 
ail the pov/erand resources of the two countries. It 
is an event fraught with too much horror, and with 
too vast a destruction of the interests of the two 
countries to be for a moment contemplated. 

One other consideration, and I have closed. In 
1843, we had not in Oregon 200 citizens who had 
gone there to settle. In 1845, we had .'8,000. If 
this increase of population, almost unexampled even 
in the nearly fabulous growth of population in the 
States of this great nation, should continue, and the 
notice should not be given, in two or three years, at , 
the same ratio of increase, we should have not less 
than 50,000 sturdy sons of the'West ready to repel 
aggression, and preserve the country from Brilisli 
encroachment. 

This consideration alone would deter me from 
giving the notice, and satisfies me that the course I 
am pursuing is consistent with our rights; for it is 
to be remembered that the joint convention in no 
respect detracts from our claim. It does not weak- 
en the strength of our title, but leaves it precisely 
as it is. 

I have thus, Mr. Chairman, hastily expressed the 
views which have guided me to the conclusion at 
which I have arrived; and I sincerely trust that, in 
the ultimate settlement of this momentous question, 
the real honor and true glory of our country may . 
be preserved untarnished, and its interests guaran- 
tied, as well against foreign aggression as against 
the effects of hasty and ill-^imed legislation. here. 



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